4307 TENANT APPLICATIONS AND SCREENING

4307.1 Any housing provider that requires an application or fees from a prospective tenant or otherwise engages in any tenant screening shall comply with § 510 of the Act (D.C. Official Code § 42-3505.10) and this section.

4307.2 Before requesting any information or fees from a prospective tenant as part of tenant screening, a housing provider shall notify the prospective tenant of the following:

(a) The amount and purpose of any application fee, mandatory fee, optional fee, security deposit, or other fee or deposit that will or may be charged to a tenant or prospective tenant, the timing of the charge, and whether each fee is refundable and under what conditions a refund, in whole or in part, will be issued, in accordance with all applicable law;

(b) The types of information that will be accessed to conduct a tenant screening;

(c) The specific criteria, if any, that will result in an automatic denial of the application;

(d) Any additional criteria that may result in the denial of the application;

(e) If a credit score or consumer report will be used for tenant screening, the name and contact information of the consumer reporting agency that will furnish the score or report;

(f) Either:

(1) The approximate number of rental units that become available for rent in the housing accommodation each calendar year, specifying the number of bedrooms and monthly rent; or

(2) If the number of rental units in subparagraph (1) cannot reasonably be estimated, the number of rental units in the housing accommodation that became available for rent in each calendar month of the housing provider's prior fiscal year;

(g) The number of days after receipt of a prospective tenant's application that the housing provider will respond with an approval or denial decision;

(h) That the prospective tenant has a right:

(1) To obtain a free copy of any credit score or consumer report obtained by the housing provider in the event of a denial of the Housing

application or other adverse action, in accordance with § 4307.14(b);

(2) To dispute whether any information that may form the basis for an adverse action is inaccurate, incorrectly attributed to the prospective tenant, or prohibited by §§ 4307.10, 4307.11, or 4307.13;

(3) To receive a response from the housing provider regarding any disputed information, in accordance with § 4307.15; and

(4) To dispute inaccurate or incomplete information with and have the dispute investigated by the consumer reporting agency under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, as described at https://consumerfinance.gov/learnmore;

(i) That the prospective tenant has a right to a refund of any application fee in accordance with § 4307.6 if it is not used by the housing provider; and

(j) That the prospective tenant may file either a complaint with the Office of Human Rights or a civil action in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia if he or she believes the housing provider has violated § 510 of the Act (D.C. Official Code § 42-3505.10).

4307.3 A prospective tenant shall be notified of the information listed in § 4307.2 in writing provided either directly to the prospective tenant or by posting the information in a manner reasonably likely to be found and read by a prospective tenant, including, for example, an office where rental applications are received, on a website describing the housing accommodation, or in an advertisement for the rental unit.

4307.4 The Commission shall publish, before February 1 of each calendar year, the application fee limit for that calendar year, computed in accordance with § 4307.5.

4307.5 A housing provider shall not charge an application fee more than the product of:

(a) Fifty dollars ($50); multiplied by

(b) The quotient of:

(1) The CPI-U for the calendar year preceding the submission of the application; divided by

(2) The CPI-U for year 2022, which was 295.792.

4307.6 If a housing provider receives an application fee from an applicant and does not conduct any tenant screening of that applicant for any reason, the housing provider shall refund the application fee to the applicant within fourteen (14) days of receiving the fee.4307.7 A housing provider shall not charge an application fee to a prospective tenant who, thirty (30) days or less before submitting an application, applied for another rental unit owned or operated by the same housing provider, paid an application fee, and the housing provider conducted any tenant screening, unless additional tenant screening procedures are required for the later application.4307.8 A housing provider shall not charge a prospective tenant any fee except an application fee prior to the execution of a lease with the tenant; provided, that a holding deposit may be required, unless the prospective tenant will pay rent with a governmental-funded voucher, in which case the housing provider may not require a holding deposit.4307.9 A housing provider may require a tenant to pay a replacement fee if the tenant is permitted to find a replacement tenant, assign the lease to another tenant, or sublet to another tenant; provided, that the amount of the replacement fee shall not exceed the allowable amount of an application fee under §§ 4307.4 or 4307.5.4307.10 A housing provider shall not, as part of any tenant screening, inquire about, require a prospective tenant to disclose or reveal, or base an adverse action on, in whole or in part, whether a previous housing provider has filed a claim to recover possession against the tenant if the action:- (a) Did not result in a judgment for possession in favor of the housing provider; or

- (b) Was filed more than three (3) years before the date of the application.4307.11 A housing provider shall not, as part of any tenant screening, inquire about, require a prospective tenant to disclose or reveal, or base an adverse action on, in whole or in part, on whether a previous housing provider has filed any claim alleging a breach of lease against the tenant that:- (a) Stemmed from an incident that the prospective tenant demonstrates may constitute a defense to an action for possession under § 501(c-1) of the Act (D.C. Official Code § 42-3505.01(c-1)) or a federal law pertaining to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, including records of civil or criminal protection orders sought or obtained by the prospective tenant or of criminal matters in which the prospective tenant is a witness;

(b) Stemmed from an incident in which the prospective tenant was a victim of a crime in the rental unit for which the lease was allegedly breached;

(c) Was related to a disability of the prospective tenant or a member of the prospective tenant's household at the time; or

(d) Occurred more than three (3) years before the date of the application.

4307.12 A housing provider shall not be found to have violated §§ 4307.10 or 4307.11 solely by reason of having received, without specifically requesting, any information described in those subsections in a consumer report; provided, that if such information was received, the housing provider shall bear the burden in a case under § 4307.17 to demonstrate that the adverse action was not taken, in whole or in part, based on that information, which may include that the housing provider relied on incomplete or inaccurate information received from the consumer reporting agency or that the housing provider could not have reasonably known that the information received related to prohibited criteria.

4307.13 A housing provider shall not, as part of any tenant screening, base an adverse action solely on a prospective tenant's credit score or lack thereof; provided, that it shall not be a violation of this subsection for a housing provider to rely on information, other than a credit score or information described in §§ 4307.10 and 4307.11, that has been disclosed in a credit or consumer report and that is directly relevant to the fitness of a prospective tenant.

4307.14 If a housing provider takes an adverse action on a prospective tenant's application based on information received through tenant screening, the housing provider shall, no later than the response date provided to the tenant in accordance with § 4307.2(g), give a written notice of the adverse action to the prospective tenant, which shall include:

(a) The specific basis or bases for the adverse action;

(b) A copy or summary, free of charge, of any information obtained from a third party that formed any basis for the adverse action;

(c) A statement informing the prospective tenant of his or her rights to dispute any basis of the adverse action by notifying the housing provider that any information forming a basis for the adverse action was inaccurate, incorrectly attributed to the prospective tenant, or prohibited by §§ 4307.10, 4307.11, or 4307.13; and

(d) A statement informing the prospective tenant of his or her right to file a

complaint with the Office of Human Rights if he or she believes the housing provider has violated § 510 of the Act (D.C. Official Code § 42-3505.10).

4307.15 If a prospective tenant, after receiving notice of an adverse action by a housing provider based on tenant screening, disputes the basis of the adverse action in accordance with § 4307.14(c), the housing provider shall respond in writing, by mail, email, or personal delivery, within ten (10) days after receipt of the notice from the prospective tenant.

4307.16 Nothing in §§ 4307.10, 4307.11, or 4307.13 shall be construed to prohibit a housing provider from:

(a) Considering debts owed to a housing authority;

(b) Considering any other criteria established in federal law; or

(c) Leasing a rental unit to other prospective tenants.

4307.17 A prospective tenant who believes that a housing provider has violated § 510 of the Act (D.C. Official Code § 42-3505.10) may either:

(a) File a complaint with the Office of Human Rights to seek the imposition of fines, half of which shall be awarded to the prospective tenant and half of which shall be deposited into the General Fund of the District of Columbia; or

(b) Bring a civil action in the Superior Court within one (1) year of the alleged violation to seek damages, attorney's fees, and equitable relief.

SOURCE: Final Rulemaking published at 72 DCR 011094 (October 10, 2025).